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Lady Gaga returned to the spotlight this week after spending a few months laying low following her hip surgery and canceled world tour. Mother Monster helped kick off New York’ Gay Pride Parade by taking the stage at Friday’s kickoff rally to offer some heartfelt words of support to the LGBT community.

“It’s my LGBT friends and fans who always said to me, I knew Lady Gaga when,” the singer said. “Well, look who the star is now. Now I get to say that I knew you when. When you suffered, when you felt unequal, when you felt there was nothing to look forward to.” Gaga then launched into the National Anthem, clutching a rainbow flag. At the end of her rendition, she changed up the lyrics a bit, replacing “star-spangled banner” with ” “star-spangled flag of pride” and “home of the brave” with “home for the gays.” Not surprisingly, the crowd went wild.

Gaga’s performance carried extra significane following this week’s landmark Supreme Court rulings. In another part of her speech, the singer said, “I would like to thank everyone from the Supreme Court to every legislator and political leader that has ever stood with us … Our evolution as LGBT citizens always continues to change and we see that the further we are able to reveal and share our lives, the further we move into the hearts and minds of other Americans.”